Justice News

Corpus Christi Man Sentenced For Possessing Child Pornography

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Lee Marvin Koerner, 50, has been ordered to prison following his conviction of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Koerner pleaded guilty April 21, 2014.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey sentenced Koerner to 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by 10 years of supervised release. In determining an appropriate sentence, the court considered the lasting harm done to the victim as well as the need to protect the public from Torres in the future. He must also register as a sex offender.

Koerner came to the attention of law enforcement in October 2013 when he attempted to use his email address to distribute an image of child pornography to another email account. A search warrant was conducted on Koerner’s Corpus Christi home, which led to the eventual discovery of more than 1100 images and 200 videos of suspected child pornography.

At that time, Koerner admitted to using a computer to access the Internet to obtain images of child pornography and that he had engaged in this behavior for several years.

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The investigation leading to the conviction was conducted by the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations.

This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Duke, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."